1,721,258 research outputs found
AD biomarker discovery in CSF and in alternative matrices
Full text linkCore Alzheimer's Disease (AD) biomarkers are the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteins amyloid beta 42 and beta 40, and the tau proteins, total and phosphorylated. Their use is recommended by research guidelines for diagnostic purpose and for stratification of patients for clinical trials. However, novel potential biomarkers are needed, which can mirror risk factors and other different mechanisms of the disease, hopefully in less invasive biological fluids or matrices. Studies on blood, urine, saliva, tears gave promising results, and several novel molecules have been identified, as potential brain derived biomarkers, thanks to the development of novel ultrasensitive technologies. In this review, we discuss about advantages and limits of the classical CSF biomarkers of AD, as well as of novel CSF candidate biomarkers and recent promises from alternative matrices
Development and significance of the frailty concept in the elderly: a possible modern view
No full textFrailty is an evolving concept that is generally defined in biomedical or psychosocial terms. It is not necessarily related to a specific single disease process. Passing by the theories of Selye (1936) on the exhaustion of the General Adaptation Syndrome,until reaching to the studies of Fried (2001) who, firstly, proposed diagnostic criteria for frailty, in this paper are explored different ways to understand this concept, until endeavour to give a possible modern view. The definition of a frailty syndrome characterized by a multi-system reduction in ?reserve capacity? remains widely accepted
CSF biomarkers in superficial siderosis: a new tool for diagnosis and evaluation of therapeutic efficacy of deferiprone--a case report
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Prognostic evaluation of brainstem hematomas: the role of CT scan and brainstem auditory evoked potentials
No full text6 cases of brainstem hematoma were studied utilizing CT scan and brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) recordings. CT scan did not contribute to an early discrimination between primary and secondary hematomas. Size of the hematoma and the presence of blood in the CSF did not represent evident signs in differentiating benign from unfavourable brainstem hematomas or hemorrhages. BAEP recordings showed the presence of electrophysiological anomalies at the level of the lesion, demonstrating that bleeding as well as tumor in the brainstem can provoke a focal damage
Stimulation of astrocytes affects cytotoxic brain edema
No full textCytotoxic brain edema has been produced in rats by subacute intoxication with triethyltin (TET). Some animals were allowed to recover spontaneously, others were post-treated with an extract of Ginkgo biloba (EGB) for 1 to 4 weeks, beginning 3 days after intoxication was stopped. The time course of the resolution of the edema was studied biochemically and morphologically by light microscopy, histochemistry and electron microscopy (EM). Morphometric evaluation showed that the spontaneous reabsorption of TET-induced edema was very slow: it was evident only 2 weeks after ending TET administration and it required more than 4 weeks to be completed. EGB therapy markedly decreased the vacuolation, as well as the abnormal levels of water and sodium contents, 1 week after beginning the treatment. Less influence of EGB was observed at the later stages. During spontaneous recovery, astroglial cells in the edematous white matter of TET-intoxicated animals showed short and swollen processes containing few organelles, low levels of NADH- and NADPH-tetrazolium reductase activities and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-immunofluorescence for about 2 weeks. During EGB therapy the astrocytes regained their cellular processes, containing intense oxidative enzyme activities and GFAP-immunofluorescence as early as after 1 week of treatment. In the EM, astrocytes often appeared hypertrophic, surrounding myelin vacuoles and displaying phagocytosis of myelin debris. We conclude that EGB can accelerate the reabsorption of TET-induced cerebral edema and improve the astroglial reaction
Indoleaminergic innervation of rat choroid plexus: a fluorescence histochemical study
No full textUsing a fluorescence histochemical technique we found that the precursor of serotonin, 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), is taken up by a population of nerve fiber-like structures, indoleaminergic in nature since selectively destroyed by the neurotoxin 6-hydroxytryptamine, within rat choroid plexus. Nerve fiber-like structures are localized within the wall of choroid blood vessels. More infrequently nerve fibers end in the stroma or in close relation to epithelial cells of the plexus. The electrolytic lesioning of raphe nuclei causes the disappearance of 5-HTP fluorescence, suggesting that these nerve fibers originate from raphe nuclei. These results suggest a direct influence of indoleaminergic pathways originating from the brainstem on the blood flow through choroid plexus as well as on the production of cerebrospinal fluid
Sundowning syndrome: a possible marker of frailty in Alzheimer's disease?
No full textThe term "sundowning" describes a clinical phenomenon characterized by late afternoon exacerbation of behavioural symptoms in dementia. Beyond this clinical definition, the debate around this concept is not properly solved, because many authors define it in different ways, mentioning various hypothetical etiological explanations. It represents a concrete problem, which is difficult to manage for physicians and caregivers, and is probably linked to various biological, psychological and social aspects. As recently reported, the sundowning phenomenon is a predictor of faster cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease, and as such can represent a possible marker of frailty in this illness. This article presents an overview of the biological understanding and possible pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment of this condition
Cholinergic nerves in dog cerebral vessels
No full textThe presence of a cholinergic innervation of the main cerebral blood vessels has been studied in the dog. Cholinergic nerve fibers are found in all examined arteries and veins, organized in two or in a single nerve plexus. The cerebral veins appear to be less innervated than arteries. The meaning of a cholinergic innervation in the cerebral circulation is discussed
The autonomic innervation of rat jugular vein
No full textThe autonomic innervation of rat jugular vein was studied using glyoxylic acid fluorescence and acetylcholinesterase histochemical methods. The rat jugular vein is provided with both adrenergic and cholinergic nerve fibers organized in plexuses located at the adventitial-medial border. The existence of these nerve plexuses does not seem to support biochemical findings that suggests a lack of innervation in the rat jugular vein and which propose this blood vessel as a model for the analysis of drug-smooth muscle cell interaction without the interference of neuronal uptake mechanisms
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